January Series speaker Kevin Schut explores video games from a Christian point-of-view

Some now-deceased philosopher once said there are only two subjects worth debating: gods and men. Had that deep thinker been alive today “technology” would probably be on the list.
So it is no wonder that Calvin College’s annual January Series of lectures—this year ranging from the Great Migration of modern America’s black population to the political paralysis in Washington, D.C.; from all-sports television to the fate of Christians in the Arab Spring—includes a speaker who sees a religious aspect to video gaming.

The schedule of the twenty-seventh edition of the annual January Series, which runs January 8—28 with all lectures free and open to the public, includes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson, ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen, and former Maine Senator Olympia Snowe.

One of the more unique, if not controversial, talks will be on January 13, when Trinity Western University Professor Kevin Schut will present a lecture titled “Of Games & God: A Christian Exploration of Video Games.”

“The Christian faith deals with all aspects of life,” Schut said. “That means any activity, any art, any technology has something to do with faith.”

“That doesn’t mean there are a set of Christian rules that govern the way we play games. I think it means more that there is a Christian approach to life, and that affects how Christians do everything—including play, storytelling, and creativity. That’s what video games, at their best, are.”

Kevin Schut makes video games a family activity.Supplied

Schut, a Calvin College graduate, has written on fantasy-role-playing computer games and masculinity, computer games and myth, the presentation of history in computer games, and on evangelical gamers. His latest book is titled Of Games & God.

Schut argues that the video game industry, which generates billions of dollars annually, is filled with negative stereotypes. And while much of the negative history of gaming is deserved—the violence, the gender exploitation…there are some deeper issues that can be viewed through a religious perspective.

“I think most video games, like so much of popular culture, largely ignore religion—Christian, Muslim, or any other kind. It doesn’t sell well,” he said. “When they do have religions, they’re usually fictional, although often with strong parallels to real world religions.”

“When religion does appear in video games, it’s typically a power tool: deities smite opposing forces, supply magic to followers, and provide a banner to rally the troops around. There is a small set of developers that create explicitly Christian video games. Most of these games are fairly low budget and small.”

Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Schut has a graduate degree from University of Iowa and has taught at missionary schools in Cote d’Ivoire and Hungary. He is married and has three daughters, all of whom play video games.

“My favorite game of all time is probably just about any version of Sid Meier’s Civilization,” he said. “Currently, I’m playing League of Legends a fair amount…Over the summer, I really appreciated The Last of Us and Bioshock: Infinite, although both of those are pretty violent games that I wouldn’t recommend to everyone.”

“My daughters and I play games together fairly often. We sometimes do adventure games like the Monkey Island series or the little indie title Machinarium, but we also play action games like Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.”

“The goal of my wife and I, with my girls, is that they become critical users of media,” he said. “We want them to do lots of reading, but also watch some movies and play games, in addition to lots of non-mediated activities like swimming and basketball…When there’s something that’s a bit problematic in a game, sometimes we take the game away, but more often, we just try to talk about what they see and hear and think about these challenging bits. I don’t want them to be afraid.”

Like video games, there may well be something for everyone in the lineup of the January Series.

“The January Series is…an opportunity to continue to learn at all different ages,” said Kristi Potter, director of the January Series. “We value questioning and learning, and we want to learn from the best.”

According to Potter, forty-four remote locations will carry the January Series this year, spanning seventeen U.S. states, three Canadian provinces, and one site in Europe. In 2013, nearly 40,000 people attended between the on-campus and remote sites.

All lectures are held at the Covenant Fine Arts Center, 1795 Knollcrest Circle SE on the Calvin College campus, with doors opening at 11:30 a.m. and lecture starting at 12:30 p.m. and running about an hour. Tip: For easier parking, do so at the Prince Conference Center off East Beltline; shuttle service is available but if it is a decent January day, it is a short walk over the mostly covered pedestrian overpass. For more information visit calvin.edu/january/2014.